Why is every listing I inquire about already have an offer? (Melbourne: short sale, real estate market) - Brevard County - Florida (FL) -Space Coast: Palm Bay, Melbourne, Titusville area - City-Data Forum

vtallison · 02-17-2012, 06:44 AM

I have been reading this forum and I see that some Realtors say that most of the available properties I see are already tied up even though it says available and they are on say, Homes.com. I have contacted listing agents on particular properties and they respond with "oh that one has an offer pending" on every property I inquire about. Am I missing something? They say that just about every property is tied up within 2 weeks of being listed. If that is the case, then why are so many people talking about the glut of listings on the Space Coast?
Do any of you professionals in Florida have any advice? Thanks!

mommster · 02-17-2012, 06:58 AM

I'm not a professional but we are looking for a house and are having a lot of trouble. You are exactly right that there are a lot of listings but nearly all in our price range (200k - 350k) are under contract. I really feel that there are a couple of listings that are "bait" to get you to contact the real estate agent. There is a property in Indiatlantic that the realtor told me he got 4 calls per week about. Of course it wasn't available but he had xxxx properties available (for more money and much less features.) When we didn't fall for that the house that we first called about "just five minutes ago" had the offer (third offer, btw) fall through and we could have the house for $5k above the listing price. We declined, of course, b/c the house needed $100k in repairs in addition to the $324k listing price. I found out a month later that the house was being offered again at a higher price and the seller required $10k in cash from the buyer. Sound shady to you? This real estate agent is off of our list for sure and we've found one who seems honest, but it's hard to trust anyone here. Houses immediately get offers on them and then they are tied up so no one can buy them and they sit forever in limbo. I've been watching one in West Melbourne that has been under contract for over a year. I think we are probably going to have to build if my husband insists on staying here.

vtallison · 02-17-2012, 07:14 AM

Thanks Mommster! That is what I am talking about! And I am looking in the 100-125K range and it is all the same. ANd I must add it is similiar for the job listings. When I inquire about those they are not available either. Indeed.com, Monster etc list all of these openings. I am in Vermont and am starting a work at home position that I will be able to take with me , but we are looking for something for my husband. We are looking in the lower range as well for him. But back to the home listings. I think investors are snapping them up to flip them for the most part and that is why us regular folk are not able to find anything decent on the market. I would hate to have to build again. I did that once in my life and vowed "never again". We desperately want to relocate to FL, but I am afraid that if we sell our home here, we will have no home there to move into. We cannot rent because we have 3 large dogs and 4 cats, so who will ever rent to us?

TestEngr · 02-17-2012, 07:15 AM

I'm no realtor or involved in that either, but I totally agree that it is bait and switch type tactics. The best advice is have your own realtor, send them the listings, and they will get back to you if valid. Some will tell you all details, like it was under contract 60 days and so on... you can learn which to avoid, etc.

Homes.com seems like a site designed for those tactics, when we moved I just gave up on it. Almost every single house is sold, the website is poor though there are many aspects of the listings there that I like, the fact they are under contract means they should take them down.

I always, always thought some kind of google or amazon would revolutionize internet real estate, but fact is you need a good realtor and they are keeping it that way. Maybe someday some gal/guy will invent the new era of real estate on the internet with some new buzz word website name but I am not going to wait for that if I need a house.

PaliBoy20 · 02-17-2012, 07:53 AM

I am having that same issue in Virginia (before I decided to make the move to Florida). Pfft, and they say the housing market is bad.

Get your own realtor and let her/him get your an updated list because they can see if they are under contract or not. That way you aren't searching for lost hope like I was at Zillow (which doesn't update their site for ANYTHING). Helps SO much when you have your own realtor. They can customize a search for you with your preferences and soon as a house hits the market it hits your email.

Parothead · 02-17-2012, 08:15 AM

There is a blog I read that is written by a realtor and he seems to be very straight forward and sarcastic. And he has been right on about the real estate in that area. I am also looking, but not actively since I have not made my mind up as to east coast or west coast yet. I really did like the CCB feel when I was there last month, but it does get a bit chilly in the winter, Once again.

But I have never talked to him, so I am not positive about him but here is his blog site.

Larry's Take on the Cocoa Beach Florida Real Estate Market

hope this helps

TestEngr · 02-17-2012, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaliBoy20

Get your own realtor and let her/him get your an updated list because they can see if they are under contract or not. That way you aren't searching for lost hope like I was at Zillow (which doesn't update their site for ANYTHING). Helps SO much when you have your own realtor. They can customize a search for you with your preferences and soon as a house hits the market it hits your email.

This is a good idea, but I have a caveat on it. I did this exact thing with my realtor, but fact is we have flexibilities and they have to enter exact criteria in the search for you. Oh, it is great to have them send these to you, but:

1) a house one block away in another coded area (they use these code numbers for areas) that is what you want but not in the search criteria because it is in an area not that you said, it will not be sent to you. Make sure you understand their system of areas.
2) You tell them say something like sq feet minimum, they may send you a house with the square feet you want but it either was exagerated by the listing agent, or too much of the square feet is in an area of the house you will never use
3) You tell them price and area, and a way way way better house is a few miles away in a very different area you did not know well, but because again the area is not marked by you (not one block but miles) you won't get sent the listing.
4) you tell them a number, say $250K, and they enter that as a minimum, but one at $238K was what you wanted but was never sent to you.

Stuff like the above happens. You still have to do a ton of work.

Come up with the best criteria you can on search, plus find an agent you can trust, then do a ton of work by sending many many listings directly to your agent. If they say the have no time to go through them all get another agent. I also suggest coming many times and look, look look. Make your agent work for what they earn.

vtallison · 02-17-2012, 08:33 AM

I have had contact with 2 different realtors and when I put the parameters in they both keep sending me properties that do not even match my criteria. So my next question is "who is a great realtor anyone can recommend in the Titusville area?" We are also considering Merritt Island but I think the home insurance will be out of sight.

PaliBoy20 · 02-17-2012, 08:37 AM

Very good points. I gave my realtor several different "criteria" being price and area. I'd rather take that over Zillow (which I did when I started with her). I gave her 5 addresses and ALL were taken or under contract. Zillow doesn't update quickly neither does Trulia.

A realtor's search will allow you to get up to date free properties but yeah..like the above poster said and in my experience, give a range of what you want. Don't be TOO specific because you could miss out on a lot that are foreclosed or short sale prices that really are houses you want...Good luck!

TestEngr · 02-17-2012, 08:56 AM

Have them setup many search criteria too. One of the better ones I found was not sq feet, or price, but a search based on minimum numbers of bathrooms... My kids are all girls and I need that...

Yet another search to include only distressed real esate, as you may or may not want to bother. Some take a year to close.

But the best way I found was make the price per square foot as an important factor to order things after the searches. There are hundreds of people who want to get 2006 price per square foot, and their listing agent will not tell them they are in a short sale, but you can't get the house for what they want because it will never appraise. I saw that a real lot last year. Basically you need to know what a fair price per square foot is to go anywhere. It varies on area though so you have to know. The online Brevard Property appraiser can show recent transactions (closings), but so can your agent.